Veggie It Out!

This weekend I was chatting with some friends while they were grilling and we had a discussion about fake meat.  I'm prone to eat it when there is a grill around but otherwise I never really crave the fake stuff.  There are times when I've salivated for a burger but they are minimal and a lot easier to surpass then wanting a cigarette.

Anyway, I mentioned how some vegetarians (who don't eat bacon) really don't revel in the fact that they are eating veggies.  They bland out their pasta or grains and then wonder why it's so hard to adjust.

In an effort to assist, I am offering my sunday dinner...and it's also meatless monday!  So YAY for veggies!  BLOW out the flavor!  They are good for you and so versatile!  Also, a glass of wine with your veggie meal doesn't hurt.

AJ's Roasted Zucchini with Indian Spices
AJ's Lemony Quinoa with Parsley and Tomato

Okay so I'm gonna make this easy for you because I'm tired.  Forgive the slightly medieval cookbook way of writing this (you know, minor if any measurements, slightly vague directions...)

For the Zuchs:

• Dice Zuchs, lightly coat with olive oil
• Put on roasting pan and sprinkle with 1 tsp red pepper, 1/2 tsp cumin seed, 1/2 tsp fennel seed (make sure you grind these seeds up fresh, either in a spice grinder or a motar and pestal)
• Sprinkle over zuch, heat for 18 mins. @ 450'

This is HOT!  Serve with yogurt or ricotta w/ mint.

For the Quinoa:

• Dice and saute onion and garlic
• Roast your quinoa (I make my quinoa like a risotto, hence the following directions)
• Add 1-2 tsps lemon zest
• add some chopped tomatoes
• Add warmed veggie stock slowly, cook through, adding as you go.  (usually 1 cup quinoa = 3-4 cups veggie)
• Add 1/2 tsp salt (ONLY if using homemade veggie stock.  Do not add if adding storebought)
• cook it through, about 15 mins.  Toss in parley, and juice of 1 lemon

And finally - pour the wine, sit down, and relax. 

Aruba: The non-exotic Goa

I just got back from a spontaneous trip to Aruba, much needed after a harrowing few months ripe with family drama.  I had planned to go to Thailand but had to cancel the trip and in a fit of mental overload, booked a 5 day/4 night respite to the Caribbean.  I took a few swimsuits, my kindle loaded with Martin's new book (A Dance with Dragons) and some sunscreen.

My original plan had been to relax and maybe see a few sights but let's be honest, I sat on my ass the whole time.  I only got up to take a swim, apply some sunscreen, and grab a pina colada at the bar when the guy didn't come around fast enough to grab my order. 

Several unfortunate truths were made clear to me on this trip.  They are as follows:

1) India has the best hotels.  I am now a spoiled brat who refuses anything less than being treated like a queen. 

2)  India is a better place to holiday

3) India has better food

4) India is cool.  Aruba is very pretty but it's no india

My relationship with India is a love/hate one.  This, I think, resembles my father's relationship halfway, in which he hated everything about India.  However, there are certain luxuries that cannot be ignored about the subcontinent.  Let's take for instance Goa - the holiday location for Indians which I would put similiar to the Caribbean for Americans.

What I disliked so much about Aruba was that it had no culture.  Well, let me rephrase.  The culture was not pervasive.  Everything here was catered to americans.  If you might doubt my synopsis let me provide some evidence:  the airport had 2 sections:  USA travelers and non-USA travelers. 

Goan Architecture

Goan Church Architecture

India doesn't cater to anyone.  It makes no excuses, it does not languish to adhere to eastern  culture even though many of it's visitors are nepali, chinese, russian, and eastern european.  It is proud of what it is.  Goa was landed by the Portuguese in the 1600s and due to this it has long indian roots with a splash of spanish/Portuguese influence making it slightly Mediterranean.  But it's India through and through and it reflects it's history in all of it's glory.  Hindu temples are dotted with spanish and moor architecture.  Meats from the west are mixed with extremely spicy (EXTREMELY spicy) curries of the east.  Fish of all sorts are baked in banana leaves with chilis and coconut and cashews (cashews are one of the biggest Goan exports).  Drinks are spicy and the bread is nutty.  It's hot and dirty in places and that's what makes it authentic.

House in Goa

Aruba seems like a lie.  It seems like a destination with all the comforts of home.  It seems like Howard Johnson circa 1960 with dunkin donuts and fries.  It's houses offer you some semblance of Island life but they seem almost forced, built up to pretend, a veritable drive of US money to supplicate the few who would ventue to see it for it's orginiality.  It screamed false to me.

House in Aruba

But lest I become too zealous in my overtures let me say this:  Aruba is a fantastic vacation spot.  The island has little to no waves, making it calm and inviting.  It's always sunny, it's always warm.  It's ocean rippling with blues of cyan, a deep azure, and a colder sapphire took my breath away.  I just wish it didn't feel like it needed to hide behind something it really wasn't:  a conglomeration of western civilization.  I say this not to the people of aruba, but the people of the states who would sooner see a culture disappear then revel in it.

My early morning swim locale in Aruba

Game of Thrones: Shirtless (NSFW)

Game of Thrones.  Epic.  10+ years in the making.  My dream series coming to fruition in all it's beauty, brutality, and just good storytelling glory.  Ok then why am I just turning into one of those annoying teenage swoony girls?

Usually when boobs fill the screen, I yawn thinking:  Oh yes, this boy stuff again.  What does it say about me that boy chests are now all I want to see?  Is it wrong for me to enjoy the equal opportunity of it all?  We got 2 homosexual scenes:  1 female, 1 male.  Both... in mass auditory.  And lots of frontal nudity from both genders.  But the sexy parts were the boys.

The boys of the north:  Robb, Jon, Theon

There are two very interesting things that happened to me that I think are worthy to note.  The first.  I am suddenly a hell of a lot more sympathetic to Theon.   Not because of his chest, which. let's face it, is beautiful.  But because of the way Alfie Allen acts the character.  Sympathetic, a boy really, lost but wanting to please.   But this doesn't hurt:

Theon and Roz

Second:  The perception and actions of individuals are so far removed from the actuality of it.  ACTIONS of course are more important than anything else.  Theon's actions signify something sketchy, subversive and mean.  His treatment of Osha and Roz are paramount in this perception.  Yes he humbly swears fealty to Robb and you have to dwaddle a moment and think:  "he's not all bad." 

But more worrisome is my penchant for loving characters on their perceived actions rather than their actions.  This is of course the power of tv and movies.  Books, it is stark (no pun intended).  It is infront of you, facing you, you can't turn away from it.  And on screen it's something different.  Nuances and eye shifting and facial expressions that say more than the words themselves.  The depth this adds to each character is amazing.

As well as the visuality of each of them.

Who are your favorites?  Do you have any you feel differently about now seeing them on the screen?

Traveling in the SubContinent

Ok, not really.  That's reserved  for india.  But I'll be traveling for a few weeks south of india.  So maybe south of the sub?  Sub south?  Sub sub?   Provided that the world does not end tonight I have a large stack of fun books to get through.  I intend to read them all.  I assume I'll only get through 1 or 2.  Here they are in no particular order.  Votes and recs welcome:

Kushiels's Dart.  I heard this book was very...interesting.  I say: perfect!  I will report my findings.





  The Beautiful and the Damned.  In the interest of full disclosure, I do love Fitzgerald but never would have thought of reading this until I watched the season finale of gossip girl.  That's right.  I just said that.

The Swan Thieves.  This one isn't getting great reviews but I love Kostova's writing.  I wish her words could be brought out to me on a plate so I could scarf it all down.  Without calories of course.

  The Paris Wife.  This could be great or god awful.  I'm willing to take a chance.  Crappy books are so much less annoying while staring at an ocean and sitting in the sun.  I'm not trying to rub it in, I'm just stating fact.

  Wise Man's Fear.  I've been waiting 3 years for this to come out and have completely forgotten all of book 1.  I remember soemthing about a boy who lives on the street.  Then goes to school and becomes a really good musician.  Really, that's all I remember.  This isn't a comment on Rothfuss but rather my memory.  Hopefully I can pick this up without rereading book 1 because that was a really big book.

Miffed at bad taste

So this dude I know was like, "I'm not really impressed with Game of Thrones" and I think if I had something hot or sharp I would have pushed it into his skin.  I literally had to stop myself from commenting on just how idiotic a comment that was.  I can understand someone not liking the content, or not liking the style, or the actors.  But no impressed with the show?  Seriously what the fuck is wrong with you.  I shut that conversation down so fast in the hopes that I wouldn't go physically violent on his ass.  I forget exactly what I said but it was short and probably mean.   He replied, "maybe I should watch it again."  Yeah dude, you fucking go do that.  Now.  And come back with the right answer.

Winter is coming does a great recap of tweets from the eps.  But I'm going to be listing my favorite as well:

From Episode 1.5 (Wolf and Lion):

@HarmoniumGuard: Fact: Tonight’s tag is #wolfandlion. Also the name of Barristan Selmy’s fists.
@CarLNJF: I hope to work the phrase “Go find the breastplate stretcher” into conversation tomorrow at work. #GameOfThrones
@DeusExCinema: Man that’s some poncey armour. #GameofThrones
@silkskinned: I didn’t catch on that Renly was probably banging the Knight of Flowers until about book 3. His first appearance? 30 seconds. #gameofthrones
@Paco_ICEandFIRE: WHATTTTTTT?! MY LITTLE PONYS HEAD!!! #GAMEOFTHRONES #WOLFANDLION
@lag28wa: Somehow ‘sore loser’ doesn’t seem to cover it #GameofThrones
@silkskinned: I want a dragon skull to use as an armchair. Arya is pimping, yo. #gameofthrones

I love the second by second tweets of the last scene:
@jennnmarshall: OoOoOh Kingslayer, I yield! #gameofthrones
@textualdeviance: Holy FUCK. #GameofThrones
@bockanalia: Omg. My eye! My eye! #GameofThrones
@elena__ghaha: #gameofthrones ned can fight!
 @TheBWCF: OOOO WHAT A DICK MOVE #GameofThrones
 @lucchaser: Noooo Boromir!!! Not again #GameOfThrones #HBO

Game of Thrones Tweets

There is something disarming about reading tweets on Game of Thrones with current slang, fresh eyes, and insight on personalities all rolled into less than 180 characters.   I had to put down some of my favorites:

@JulieDiCaro: My cat is named Circe. Now that makes me sad
@murraynmitch: All I know is, if you have blond hair, you are evil, just like World War 2.
@ericgrau: Dear Joffrey and Sansa, I hate both of you. Sincerely, Eric.
@CateDubMajor: Jaime’s a bitch
@faboamanto: Missing! One large white direwolf, answers to name of Ghost! If found, contact #lordsnow
@silkskinned: Tyrion’s attitude towards White Walkers is essentially “pics or it didn’t happen”.
@stephlmanson: I’ve seen some whacked out spellings of #GameOfThrones names: Callisi, Sanza, Tyria, Robert Barageron, Danerus…pretty entertaining though
@tribalmeg: Theon Greyjoy, always a douchebag.
@ericbuscher: I love Tyrian. He will be a dick to anyone. Even a six year old
@cookie_bean These Night’s Watchmen are a seriously homely bunch… bring on the horde!
OliviaRoy: shut up Viserys, you’re worse than Sansa
@hutch_jessica: I guess dragons are going to be important because they keep talking about them.
@allflicker: I’d better see some goddamn dragons by season’s end
@silkskinned: Sansa, take a xanax and get over yourself.
@ReallyAlly: Jaime, you are an asshole. Get in my bed.
@Soulrific: Lawd, please don’t let Jon Snow be gay.
@tribalmeg: Gregor Clegane, one of the many batshit people inhabiting King’s Landing.

Annals of Sunday Afternoons: Reading and Cooking

I love Sunday afternoons, particularly lazy ones that are sunny.  It's also a little sad as as the sun sets because I immediately begin to realize  that my next few hours will lead me to a sleep which requires me to get out of bed the next morning and get back to work. 

Sunny afternoon, with my Kindle...

On the occasions where I can afford some down time on sundays without leaving the house I am usually wrapped up in cooking a meal I've never made before and playing video games or reading.  There is nothing quite like the pleasure of relaxing with a book while the sun pours over me.  It just makes me happy.





Sundays also afford time to think about what to eat and buy for the week.  This morning I had a hankering for comfort food and that usually means I'm in the mood for some type of pasta or potato dish.  Inspired by a recipe that Rachel Ray once made on her show I went to the store, bought some ingredients, and started to cook it without once looking at any type of recipe.  I have to say, after eating it, I did a damn fine job.  In fact, without sounding too egotistical, it was some of the best lasagna I've ever eaten.  I kind of made it up as I went along but I thought I would share.  Please note that the measurements are not at all exact.

AJ's Lazy Eggplant Lasagna

1 onion
2 large cloves of garlic
1 medium eggplant
1 tsp Fresh Oregeno
1/2 tsp Thyme
2-3 tomatos
1.5 TBS tomato paste
Lasagna pasta thingys
Ricotta cheese
Bechemel Sauce
Parm Cheese
Veggie Broth and/or water
S&P

1. Use a big pot.  Oil it.  Cut up Onion, toss in, let it get soft, few minutes.  Toss in minced garlic.  Let get fragrant.  Slice and cube up Eggplant.  And in. Let the eggplant cook a few minutes till the outsides start to get a little brown and soft.  Add about 1/2 tsp thyme and 1 tsp fresh oregeno.  Add a pinch of salt to pull out moisture in onions 
• At this point boil some water in another pot
2. As the onions and garlic and eggplant start to cook and get slightly browned to the pan add a touch (1/4 cup or less) of veggie stock or water (I make my own veggie stock but any store bought should work fine). Adding water will deglaze your pot, but you don't want too much because you don't want your sauce runny. Turn heat down from high medium to medium.
3. Add the tomatoes...the water from the tomatoes will cook out so make sure this is done before adding next step liquid
4. Add about 1/2 cup water and some tomato paste.   Cover your pot and let the flavors combine.  Add 1/2 tsp kosher salt.  Continue covered  until your eggplant is nice and tender -- basically test until you get the consistency of the eggplant you want to be eating in your lasagna.
5. Meanwhile, get your lasagna pasta thingys and break them up with your hands so they are about 1/2 inch - size is irrelevant, they can be all different sizes.  Dump into boiling water, cook until almost done.
6. By now your eggplant sauce should be done.  Just check to make sure the sauce isn't too thin - it should resemble a red sauce that isn't as thick as a marinara but should be a lot more composed than water.  Maybe a little thinner than a curry sauce if that makes sense.  
7. Drain pasta and add to the eggplant pot.  you can add a little starch water too if your sauce is too thick.
8. Now plop the entire pot into a casserole dish!
9. Top with Ricotta dollops (i literally just scooped them out and put pats all over the top of the dish.  I also added some thyme and oregeno to the ricotta and mixed it up but that is completely optional.)
10. Pour Bechemel sauce over the dish
11. Sprinkle with parmesean and put in 425 degree oven until top gets a little brown.  Then enjoy!

See how 3 pieces are gone?  That was all me.

AJ's Bechemel Sauce

I love behcemel so I make it all the time.  here is my failproof/easy method:

 Make a rue.  ALWAYS use equal parts flour and butter.  For this particular recipe use:

• 3 Tablespoons Butter melt in pan
• Add 3 Tablespoons Flour.  Whisk and let cook until you smell a nutty smell (not flour smell)
• Add 1.5 cups milk, whisking in slowly.  Let thicken.  Add 1/4-1/2 cup milk.  Let thicken
• Add 1/2 tsp salt, black pepper, pinch of nutmeg
• DONE!  Pour over your dish.